1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to smart-grid technology and, more specifically but not exclusively, to energy-management systems for user-premises area networks.
2. Description of the Related Art
This section introduces aspects that may help facilitate a better understanding of the invention(s). Accordingly, the statements of this section are to be read in this light and are not to be understood as admissions about what is in the prior art or what is not in the prior art.
The term “smart grid” typically refers to a class of technology that is being deployed to bring electricity-delivery systems up to 21st-century standards, e.g., using computer- and/or digital-processor-based control and automation. Steady advances in digital communications and signal processing have spurred the development of smart-grid systems by making the corresponding system-enabling components relatively inexpensive and readily available to smart-grid developers. Advantageously, smart-grid systems may offer numerous benefits to utility companies and consumers, e.g., as manifested by big improvements in energy efficiency on the electricity grid and in the end-users' homes and offices.
A home area network (HAN) extends at least some of the smart-grid capabilities into the user premises. In a representative implementation, a home area network is a dedicated local network that connects various energy-consuming, energy-generating, and energy-storing objects located at the user premises in a manner that enables the end-user to realize energy/cost savings through automation and the ability to monitor, control, and/or adapt the operation of these objects to changing energy conditions. Exemplary objects that may be included in a home area network are thermostats, appliances, water and area heaters, lighting, electric-vehicle charging stations, pool pumps, uninterruptable power supplies, communication equipment, multimedia and security systems, renewable-energy generators, electricity-storage equipment, and load-control devices. Various operating methods and the corresponding enabling system components that can be used to take advantage of the full range of HAN capabilities are currently being actively developed.